One of Australia’s best kept secrets is the island wilderness of Kangaroo Island. Often called “Australia’s Galapagos,” the Kangaroo Island is full of epic landscapes and seemingly limitless wildlife. The island, known as KI to locals, is about the size of New York’s Long island and over one-third of it is conservation and national park land. Kangaroo Island is a must-see for visitors to Australia.

Kangaroo Island is easily accessed by daily 45-minute ferry service or a 30-minute flight from Adelaide. To see the amazing scenery and the vast array of indigenous animals, you will want to either rent a car for self-drive touring or join one of a plethora of group coach or private four-wheel drive tours. Accommodations ranging from luxury to budget, seaside homes to bushland cottages and hotels to campers are available to fit every style.

The coastal areas are spectacular with massive crescents of white beach, rocky inlets and soaring cliffs punctuated by pounding surf at their base. Ocean lovers will revel in the swimming, wreck-diving, fishing, sailing and surfing. Marine life is abundant and you can swim with dolphins or sight sea eagles, osprey, and pelicans.

 

The Flinders Chase National Park is home to the Remarkable Rocks, a group of granite boulders that appear to balance precipitously on bare rock and look as if they will tumble into the ocean any moment. The 1909 Cape du Couedic Lighthouse and plenty of kangaroos, koalas and other wildlife also delight visitors to the park.

photo credit: KT Rawlings

At Seal Bay Conservation Park, a 2,600 foot boardwalk winds down to the beach where visitors can actually walk in close proximity to sea lions surfing the waves and basking in the sun. As the name implies, seals and pups also hang around this hugely popular park.

On Kangaroo Island you can join Little Penguins on their nightly waddle from the water to their burrows in the sand or taste the delectable honey of the only known pure strain of Ligurian Bees in the world.  Go caving in the caverns and sinkholes of Kelly Hill Caves or climb to the top of the spectacular sand dunes of Little Sahara then ride the slopes down to the bottom on a sand board.

The local gastronomic scene flourishes with superb gourmet food and wine from numerous small-scale independent farms, fisheries and restaurants. The pristine environment and local skill produces some of the finest seafood, dairy and wines found in Australia. KI is a food lover’s bliss.

The sheer diversity of flora, fauna, scenery and activities makes Kangaroo Island an interesting and enchanting place to visit. Let Covington Travel add KI to your Australian itinerary and you’ll be amazed at the variety of experiences you’ll encounter.